Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 1274: Mutant Iron Earth Beetles

Being persistently chased by a group of ancient creatures was definitely not something anyone would be happy about. However, when this was related to his life and death, Qin Yu could not be bothered to think too much about his feelings.

Qin Yu wished he had extra legs to allow him to run faster. The twelve ancient creatures were enraged at him and chased after him relentlessly. They looked like they were determined to reduce him to ashes.

Thankfully, the mountain was strong and the cracks in the ground were narrow. This allowed Qin Yu to keep his distance from the ancient creatures.

The path he took was curved and winding. Furthermore, Qin Yu only cared about advancing forward. He had long since lost his direction and he just went deeper and deeper down.

The group of ancient creatures still refused to give up!

Qin Yu sighed in exasperation. He turned his head to look back and his speed slowed. Suddenly, a piercing sound tore through the air and a cold aura swept past his nose.

Qin Yu’s hair rose and his expression grew stiff. He stopped suddenly and looked into a crack in the ground.

He could see through the darkness and it even helped him to take a clearer look. He discovered that there was the shell of a beetle that had camouflaged nicely into the ground. If not for the brief instance where it was exposed, the beetle would have just remained stationary like a rock on the ground.

This was why Qin Yu had almost missed it. As for the thing that swept past his nose…Qin Yu glanced at the two sharp forelimbs of the beetle and he scowled.

If he had not turned his head back and lowered his speed, the cold aura from the beetle would have gone for his head.

The two front limbs of the beetle were thin and it was deceiving to think that they were like two fingers that pressed together. However, Qin Yu felt shivers down his spine when he took a closer look. They were sharp knives, and Qin Yu was very lucky that his head had not been snapped off just now.

With such a close shave, Qin Yu’s fear was like a tidal wave that swept through him. Once again, he felt the dangers of this mountain. If he was not careful he would lose his life to a mere insect.

Having been discovered, the eyes of the beetle stared at Qin Yu with deadly intent. Its eyes were hidden within its shell and with a cry, it pounced at him. The small creature was bold. Qin Yu had been careless previously. But did it think that it would have its way so easily?

As anger tore through him, Qin Yu reached forward. Darkness wrapped around the beetle and it cried and struggled. Its front limbs closed quickly and it cut through the darkness.

It was very sharp indeed!

However, darkness did not have a physical body and even after it was sliced through, it closed up easily again. Layer after layer, darkness stacked together and bound the beetle.

With a thought, Qin Yu mobilized the darkness to contract and strangle the beetle. Suddenly, Qin Yu snorted and surprise crossed his face. The beetle had a very hard shell and it was impossible for him to break through it quickly.

“Master, wait!” Stone Pagoda suddenly cried.

Old Turtle’s heart clenched. His first thought was that Stone Pagoda was going to gain some points again. He was right!

Stone Pagoda said, “If I am not wrong, this is the Iron Earth Beetle. It has very strong attacking and defensive capabilities and it is one of the favorite prey of the Fantasy Spider.”

A glimmer crossed Qin Yu’s face. This explained things. The cracks in the stone cave of the Fantasy Spiders were meant to trap Iron Earth Beetles. However, why would the two powerful Fantasy Spiders die at the same time? They were creatures at the top of the food chain.

There was no time to consider this. Qin Yu asked, “Are you saying that we can make use of the Iron Earth Beetle?”

Stone Pagoda confirmed, “Yes, Master. The Fantasy Spider is the natural enemy of the Iron Earth Beetle. A little aura is enough to scare them away. If we can find their lair, we can lure the twelve ancient creatures over and they can fight it out.”

A good idea!

Qin Yu’s eyes sparkled but he quickly frowned again. “The insides of the cracks are hard to navigate. How are we going to find the lair of the Iron Earth Beetles?”

Old Turtle’s heart jumped again. Damn it, Stone Pagoda is going to gain more points. If Stone Pagoda thought of this idea, he definitely had a way to solve this problem. Otherwise, Stone Pagoda was slapping himself!

As expected, Old Turtle was right.

Stone Pagoda lightly answered, “Aside from being strong in attack and defense, the Iron Earth Beetle is also known to hold grudges and run away. As long as Master lets go of this Iron Earth Beetle, you can find its lair if you follow after it.”

Stone Pagoda briefly paused and then continued, “However, Master, you need to be wary of the timing. It would be best if you can find the lair in one go, otherwise the Iron Earth Beetles will learn of your plan.”

The corners of Qin Yu’s mouth raised slightly and he agreed, “You are right.” He shifted his gaze and stared at the captured Iron Earth Beetle. He muttered, “Little guy, I will be counting on you.”

With a thought, the darkness around the Iron Earth Beetle dispersed. It cried as it glared at Qin Yu before turning around and escaping. It was as though the Iron Earth Beetle was saying, “If you are not a coward, don’t leave. I will call my family here and take care of you!”

Qin Yu smiled in satisfaction, having set up the scheme. He was not only going to stay here, he would personally head over to the beetle’s home to apologize. He would even bring twelve gifts to them for the beetle family to have a good feast.

Nonetheless, as Stone Pagoda mentioned, he had to be careful with the timing. Putting careful consideration into this scheme would allow it to be executed to perfection!

Qin Yu followed behind the Iron Earth Beetle. His eyes were bright and alert and his smile deepened. This was what he would do. If he impeded them little by little and continued to tease them, he could take advantage of their rage. The Beast Kings would be so consumed by anger that they would not have time to think.

He pressed a hand behind him and shifted the darkness with his mind. Instantly, layers upon layers of darkness fell where he ran.

After a while, loud crashing sounds could be heard continuously from behind as the ancient creatures roared in anger. This was a blatant act of provocation. He was being chased by twelve creatures but he dared to provoke them further!

The layers formed by the darkness were not enough to stop the twelve Beast Kings nor injure them. At the very most, it slowed them down slightly.

Although this was the outcome, the Beast Kings had rammed into the invisible darkness layers like idiots. They could not tolerate such humiliation.

They had to capture him even if they had to run across the entire world. The twelve Beast Kings boiled with rage and they ran faster.

Qin Yu lightly coughed as he rubbed his forehead. He was really good at this; a little play had resulted in such huge reactions from the twelve creatures. He could cause trouble and also solve problems. These beasts had better hurry, the Iron Earth Beetles would not wait much longer.

In the end, Qin Yu was the first to arrive.

The Iron Earth Beetle that Qin Yu had been following made an ear-piercing screech that seemed to release all the anger within its heart! Arrogance. This weird guy was so arrogant. How could he chase the Iron Earth Beetle all the way to its lair?

However, it was time for his arrogance to end. No matter who he was, no matter how strong he was, once he came to the Iron Earth Beetles’ lair, he would be finished.

Buzz buzz buzz –

Suddenly, numerous Iron Earth Beetles appeared from the stone cave. It was impossible to keep count of how many there were and the beetles were everywhere.

To be honest, Qin Yu was shocked by what he saw even though he had been mentally prepared. If the aura from the Fantasy Spiders was useless and Stone Pagoda was wrong, he would probably lose his life then.

Without time to think, Qin Yu flipped over his palm and the head of one of the Fantasy Spiders appeared. Qin Yu channeled energy into the Fantasy Spider’s head, causing the remaining Fantasy Energy in the bones to gush out. All of a sudden, Fantasy Energy filled the air.

Qin Yu could sense a sudden gasp from the Iron Earth Beetles. They were petrified as they stood rooted to their spots. Fear filled their eyes instantly.

A predator on top of them in the food chain caused fear to fill their souls. There was a crushing silence in the air.

It was effective!

Qin Yu sighed deeply and he gritted his teeth as he stepped forward. The petrified Iron Earth Beetles retreated backward in a wave. They were completely vulnerable before the Fantasy Energy as they stared at Qin Yu with quivering eyes. They parted ways for Qin Yu while he walked through the swarm of beetles.

Bam bam bam –

The explosive sounds grew closer and closer, signifying how near the twelve ancient creatures were. They had sensed Qin Yu’s sudden decrease in speed and their first thought was that he had run into trouble.

What a chance…where can this idiot run to?

The sudden change of momentum from the ancient creatures had been felt by Qin Yu. Similarly, the crashing sounds were getting louder. Qin Yu smirked, “Enjoy. I wish you all the best.”

Before he turned and left, he purposely left a bit of his aura behind to further infuriate the ancient creatures. Once again, their roars grew louder.

Bang –

A large rock was instantly shattered as the first ancient creature dashed towards him. It was the Mighty Bear King that had been determined to catch Qin Yu and use his blood to wash away its shame. It caught sight of Qin Yu leaving. Qin Yu even waved his arm to bid farewell to it.

This bastard, he must die…The bear’s eyes bulged wide from anger and it was just about to roar when it spotted the mass of Iron Earth Beetles around it. It immediately swallowed its roar and its heart jumped in fright.

The other eleven Beast Kings also had a similar reaction when they saw the army of Iron Earth Beetles. Each one of them fell into a state of shock.

They had been tricked!

There was no doubt about that. However, they had no time to feel more enraged and their only thought was – should they run?

Nonsense, of course they should run!

The Mighty Bear King was the first to whip around and flee. Right at that moment, the army of beetles started to screech.

They were being bullied!

As the tyrant of the underground world, the Iron Earth Beetles hated to be taken advantage of because they had strength in numbers. They had always been the ones to prey on others and they were never forced to a corner. However, this time, they had backed away voluntarily and made a path for their enemy to walk through.

This was utter shame and humiliation!

However, the aura from the Fantasy Spider was too terrifying. None of them dared to fight it and hence they directed all their anger from the humiliation at the twelve ancient creatures.

These land creatures actually dared to invade their nest and they must be killed. Otherwise the reputation of the Iron Earth Beetles would be ruined!

Boom!

The swarm of Iron Earth Beetles rushed forward as the ancient creatures ran for their lives. Deafening yowls and roars filled the air.

Qin Yu stopped to listen. He shook his head in disappointment. The twelve ancient creatures did not even dare to fight back, how shameful. After he thought about it again, he realized he was in the same shoes. He had used the Fantasy Spider’s head. Hehe…forget it. He should not laugh at others.

Rubbing his chin, Qin Yu smiled in satisfaction at the ugly Fantasy Spider’s head in his arms. If he had not stolen these bones previously, he would not have been able to get rid of the twelve ancient creatures this easily.

Good, what a good haul!

He continued grinning and he decided that for his own safety, he ought to walk further away first before putting the Fantasy Spider’s head away. It would be a disaster if those narrow-minded Iron Earth Beetles turned for him.

Qin Yu was in high spirits as he left. Unfortunately, as the swarm of Iron Earth Beetles chased after the twelve Beast Kings, a cave that had been sealed away for many years started to move. Cracking sounds appeared as the seal weakened.

Following which, numerous sets of green eyes flew open in the darkness. A few dozen red, ancient Iron Earth Beetles crawled out from the cave. Their noses shifted simultaneously as they surveyed their surroundings. All of a sudden, they screamed and their red shells opened to reveal their wings. Their wings beat the air at lightning speed and they flew towards Qin Yu.

Every species needed to evolve to sustain their own kind. They had to put in the effort to make up for their own shortcomings and survive in this cruel world.

The Iron Earth Beetles were no exception.

For many years, the Iron Earth Beetles had been trying to break through the bad dream state from the Fantasy Spiders’ Fantasy World. They had gone through many trials and errors and finally, a mutant species called Anti-hunter Iron Earth Beetles were developed.

They were the biggest-kept secret in the Iron Earth Beetles swarm and would only be released if they faced the Fantasy Spiders. However, the Fantasy Spiders disappeared a long time ago and these Anti-hunter Iron Earth Beetles were slowly forgotten.

Most of these mutant Iron Earth Beetles had already died, but there were a few that survived till this day in hibernation.

Now, with the appearance of the aura from a Fantasy Spider, they could finally wake up again!

……

Qin Yu was exhausted. He did not know where these crimson red beetles with glowing eyes came from. They were a weird form of the Iron Earth Beetles and they did not fear the aura from the Fantasy Spider. Instead, they had rushed towards him excitedly after he revealed the head of the Fantasy Spider.

Compared to the normal Iron Earth Beetles, they were larger, stronger, and faster. At the same time, their crimson red shell increased their defensive capabilities.

Thankfully, there were only a few dozen of them. If they had the same numbers as the swarm from before, Qin Yu would be frozen from fear.

Despite that, it was very hard to run away from the Mutant Iron Earth Beetles. Not only were they very fast, they had evolved to have wings. As their wings beat, the crimson red beetles flew even faster!

Stone Pagoda was depressed. This was supposed to be a chance for him to solidify his position in Qin Yu’s heart. Yet, just as he was about to succeed, this unexpected incident happened.

The Iron Earth Beetles…these guys actually had mutants that were resistant to the Fantasy Spider!

Old Turtle’s joy only lasted a moment before he realized that he was not going to benefit if Qin Yu was in danger. If Qin Yu died, Stone Pagoda would fall into a deep slumber in the worst case scenario. However, Old Turtle would perish with Qin Yu.

How could he be happy?